国际英语资讯:Italy marks locked-down Easter as COVID-19 claims almost 20,000 lives_时事

国际英语资讯:Italy marks locked-down Easter as COVID-19 claims almost 20,000 lives

ROME, April 12 -- The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 19,899 lives in locked-down Italy since the pandemic first broke out in the country on Feb. 21, according to the latest official data released on Easter Sunday.

Speaking during a televised press conference, Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli said that the total number of infections, fatalities, and recoveries has reached 156,363.

The day also saw 1,984 new active coronavirus infections, bringing the nationwide total to 102,253.

国际英语资讯:Italy marks locked-down Easter as COVID-19 claims almost 20,000 lives1

Of those infected, 27,847 are hospitalized -- down by 297 compared to Saturday, while 3,343 are in intensive care -- down by 38. The rest are in home-isolation.

The death toll on Sunday was 431, bringing the total to 19,899. There were 1,677 more recoveries, pushing that total to 34,211.

While the overall numbers of hospitalizations and patients requiring intensive care are trending downwards, the infection continues unabated in the northern Lombardy region, where the pandemic first broke out. The region has the lion's share of cases at 31,265 active infections, according to official data.

For comparison, the next most affected region was Emilia Romagna at 13,672 infections, followed by Piedmont (12,505), and Veneto (10,729).

In a message on Facebook, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tried to encourage the nation as it spent this major holiday in lockdown. He wished a happy Easter "to all Italians, those who are suffering today, those who face an empty chair, and those fighting in hospitals to keep tears and sorrow at bay from their communities."